The 1 year old was taken from his mother's car at the College Lakes Plaza shopping center. It turns out a family friend took the child to teach the mother a lesson.

The mother of the child drove up to a Food Lion in Fayetteville, parked her car, went in to use the phone and left her son in his car seat with the windows down and the door unlocked. When she came out of the store, her son was gone.

She immediately called police, and 25 investigators responded. They began an immediate search for the baby and called family members and friends.

It took two hours, but investigators finally found a family friend that said she had the boy.

Police speculate that she took the baby to teach the mother a lesson that she should not have left the baby in the car alone.

The friend who took the baby was not charged. Police say she acted in good faith by trying to rescue the child.

"It doesn't ring of a true kidnapping where a child is abducted, taken out of state and is never seen again," explained Sgt. Tim Hayworth of the Fayetteville Police Department. "In this case it looks like the person used some real poor judgement."

The child was probably left in the car less that ten minutes.

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Reporter

Melissa Buscher

Web Editor

John Clark

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